A Favour
by mirrorshine
Summary: A 'What If' story. What if Aqua did exactly as Eraqus instructed, when she found Terra and Ven? SPOILERS!


_**This is basically a 'what if?' The idea just came to me and I wanted to write it down. It hasn't been beta'd or anything of the sort, just a spur of the moment kind of thing so if there are any grammatical errors and such that's my explanation.**_

_**I adore Aqua's character (from what I've seen of it anyway) above any other. And it's nice to have a female lead for a change too! So I've tried to keep this as close to character as possible. So take a read and see what you think.**_

_**Also, this was a one-shot, **_**BUT **_**if a lot of people like the idea, I can try and make it into a multi-chapter story. But as of yet I wouldn't have a clue as to where to go with the story next. **_

_**So if you'd like me to continue it please leave a review saying yes or no basically! **_

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Italics - flashback

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Aqua landed gracefully before spinning round to face the gigantic unversed that had shown up at Radiant Garden. Her keyblade was still held tightly in her hand as she watched Ven and Terra both land across from her, them too turning round ready to finish off the monster.

She caught her breath as the monster slowly began vanishing in a plume of black mist before disappearing completely. Aqua smiled slightly to herself, allowing her keyblade to disappear before she stood up straight. _We did it! _She thought to herself as her smile grew. Her eyes finally landed on the blond haired apprentice who also had a smile across his face.

Ven had come this far all by himself?

Aqua's anxiety for the boy suddenly increased and she rushed towards him hoping to make sure he was safe and somehow persuade him to return to the Land of Departure. "We did it!" Terra called as he too raced towards Ven, his loud heavy footsteps pounding out.

Aqua came to an abrupt stop in front of her youngest friend, her smile overtaking her face. She looked to Terra, surprised to see his own smile. "Thanks to our teamwork!" Aqua couldn't help but reply. The three of them truly did work well as a team and if nothing more they had all just proved that point.

"Of course!" Ven laughed, his hands reaching behind his head with a smug smile spread across his face. Aqua wanted to cry out with laughter and pull the other two into a tight hug. Even though it had only been a couple of days, it already felt like years since the three of them had been close together and working as a team once again. "Oh yeah!" Ven suddenly cried, his face lighting up. "I got these tickets..." He began, digging into his pockets to pull out three brightly coloured cards.

Terra frowned slightly, leaning forwards to get a better look at said tickets. "What for?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Year round passes to Disney Town." Ven replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He handed one to Terra, his smile becoming infectious as his two older friend's beamed back. Aqua gazed at the card in Terra's hand as the oldest apprentice of Master Eraqus turned the ticket over in his hand. "It's supposed to be lots of fun!"

Aqua watched as Ven's smile grew, obviously being unable to hide his excitement anymore. Sometimes Aqua forgot how the boy was two years younger than herself and she looked over to the oldest of them all, wondering how Terra would like the idea of going to Disney Town. Aqua wasn't too sure what Disney Town was, but she assumed it was some kind of fair or amusement park, which of course would explain as to why Ven had managed to get three tickets seeing he was attracted to anything of that sort.

"I was told to come back with my parents." Ven muttered, his smile faltering slightly as he handed Aqua another ticket before pocketing his own.

"Your parents?" Aqua replied, her heart going out to Ven, who has no past memories of before he came to the Land of Departure. Aqua stared at the ticket a final time before looking back at Ven, his smile slowly reforming. She slowly began to laugh, thinking how awkward it would be to turn up at Disney Town with Ven and Terra in town. Aqua turned to Terra as she heard his own deep laughter, obviously at the same thing. His eyes eventually met with hers and their laughter faded.

She pocketed the ticket and slowly remembered her own mission and why she was all the way out here.

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Aqua stood at the stop of the glistening white stairs that lead back to the castle that was their home at the Land of Departure. She watched as Terra leapt onto his deadly looking keyblade rider and pulled it up so it stood up vertically before he shot upwards and disappeared in the dark black and purple vortex that allowed them to travel between worlds.

_She could see Ven's disappointment at being left behind and she sighed to herself. She truly pitied Ven as no matter how positive he always was, Aqua knew deep down he never wanted to be left behind, mostly because Eraqus, Terra and herself were the only people in his life now. _

_Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Ven quickly summon his own keyblade rider which he leapt onto like a skateboard. She pounded down the stairs, hoping to catch him. What was he thinking? Was he trying to go after Terra?_

"_Wait, Ven!" She cried, hoping he might stop but knew he wouldn't. She watched him drive his rider after where Terra had disappeared and Aqua came to a slow stop as she stared up into the bright blue sky as she watched her second friend leave. Aqua could hear Eraqus' metallic footsteps as he rushed after her and felt him come by her side to watch Ven leave._

"_We must stop Ven!" Eraqus cried out harshly. His eyes narrowed as he kept on staring upwards, hoping Ven might see sense and come back to him. He spun round the moment Ven disappeared and faced the new Master. "You have to bring Ven back!" He ordered hastily, like there was no time to lose. He knew he could trust this task with Aqua, she was his most committed and trust worthy apprentice. _

_Aqua looked to Master Eraqus, seeing the worry in his scared face. "Don't worry." She replied, her hand closing above her chest once before nodding. _

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"But Ven..." Aqua paused as she looked to Ven. "I still can't believe you've come all the way here!"

Ven rolled his eyes once and shifted the weight on his feet. Aqua's stern gaze was on him and for a moment his guilt built up inside of him. "I'm fine!" He answered, pulling a smile on his face. He knew deep down Aqua was just worried about him. "I even beat up this guy who was badmouthing Terra!" Ven added with a triumphant smirk, turning to the oldest apprentice who felt like more like an older brother than a fellow keyblade apprentice.

Terra's emotionless face changed to one of complete surprise and shock. The brunette hastily reached forwards and gripped onto Ven's shoulder, leaning forwards to come more to Ven's level. "You met the masked boy?" Terra asked demandingly.

Aqua was about to break the two apart, seeing the anger in Terra's face and the growing nervousness in Ven's face. "Ye-yeah." Ven stuttered.

"Vanitas..." Terra mumbled to himself. Aqua turned and stared at the oldest apprentice, wondering how Terra had found out all this information over the time since he left the Land of Departure. "Ven." Terra began, slowly releasing Ven and standing up to his full height. "You should go home with Aqua." He ordered, his voice like a general of an army speaking to his soldiers.

Ven's eyes switched from Terra to Aqua and then back at Terra. "No way!" He cried out like a child. "I'm staying with you guys!" He replied quickly. Aqua sighed to herself, Ven truly didn't want to be left behind. She wanted to reach forwards and tell him that both herself and Terra will be right behind him.

"No." Terra ordered once more, his voice becoming a little softer than before. "We all have important missions to complete, and they're bound to bring danger along."

Aqua's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the eldest apprentice speak. "And what are these 'important missions', Terra?" She asked abruptly. There was something happening that she didn't know about and she was pretty sure Terra might not even know what he's doing. There was a look of surprise on both of the males' faces as they turned to look at her. "_This_ doesn't feel like the same mission Master sent us out on."

Terra paused once, licking his lips as he fell deep in thought. "The fact that I'm still fighting the darkness hasn't changed." Terra finally answered.

"Really?" Aqua asked. She hated how sarcastic her voice sounded, but she agreed with her first statement that this didn't feel like the mission Eraqus had sent them on. "When I saw you in the first world, I couldn't help but feel that..." She paused, looking down at her feet, finding her resolve to say what needed to be said. Aqua dragged her eyes back up to lock with Terra's, seeing his deep frown. "You're getting too close to the darkness."

"Aqua!" Ven cried out in complete surprise, clearly not expecting her to say anything like that. "Terra wouldn't-"

As much as she hated herself, Aqua ignored the youngest keyblade wielder and kept her stern gaze on Terra. "Have you been following me?" Terra interrupted Ven, his eyes narrowed as he stared back at the new Master. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, had Aqua been following him all this while? Did his master not trust him? "Is that part of Master's orders?" He added, stepping closer to Aqua.

"I just..." Aqua began, trying to think of something to say to Terra. Eraqus was only worried about Terra, that he wanted to make sure that the young man was safe that was all. She avoided his gaze, keeping her eyes focused on one of the many light blue tiles that decorated the floor.

"No way..." Ven muttered, when Aqua didn't reply.

"Right." Terra answered sternly, he turned on his heel and made to walk away from his two friends.

"Terra?" Ven cried, making to follow the oldest apprentice.

"Don't follow me!" Terra barked. His sudden booming voice made Aqua jump slightly and Ven came to a sudden stop. "We each have different paths to follow." Aqua stared at Terra's back, hoping he would turn and face them both.

She couldn't help but feel Terra was brushing too closely with the darkness and because of this master Eraqus' words were ringing in Aqua's ears.

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"_Aqua, wait." The girl stopped and spun round to face her master. She was ready to leave for her own mission to help protect the princesses of light and defeat the unversed, just like Terra. "I have one more mission for you." He added, walking down the few steps to stand in front of Aqua. "No..." He paused. "Rather a favour to ask of you." He muttered._

"_What is it?" Aqua asked with a slight shrug of her shoulders._

"_I want Terra to prove himself capable of becoming a Master on this mission." Eraqus began, a small smile gracing his features. Aqua couldn't help her own small smile, knowing how unaware Terra was of how much Eraqus cared about him. "However, I could sense the small piece of darkness lurking deep in his heart." The smile on Eraqus' face disappeared, as did Aqua's. The idea that Terra had darkness inside of him sounded preposterous, but at the same time Aqua would never doubt her master's experience and knowledge. "If by any chance Terra appears to be falling to that darkness, I want you to bring him back to me immediately." Eraqus finished. His eyes burnt right through Aqua and the girl felt the overwhelming feeling of the burden being placed on her shoulders, like the waves of the sea were crashing down on her and dragging her deeper and deeper into its murky depths. "I don't want a single one of you to be hunted by the darkness." _

_Aqua slowly looked back at Eraqus, seeing the small pleading look in his eyes. No matter the sudden pressure from the mission, she knew she had to do it for Eraqus. "Understood." Aqua answered with a nod of her head. Besides, Terra would never fall to the darkness that much she knew, but if their master truly thought there might be a chance it made sense for her to be on her guard. "I will not let Terra fall to the darkness!" She added determinedly. "I will bring Terra back, being worthy of the title of a Master!" _

_With a smile from Eraqus, Aqua turned on her heel and made her way to the double doors to leave. As she walked she stopped for a second, gazing up at the stained glass window. "There's no way Terra will fall to the darkness." She voiced her opinion, hoping that it might somehow reassure Eraqus. _

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Aqua watched as Terra began to walk away. _"If by any chance Terra appears to be falling to that darkness, I want you to bring him back to me immediately." _Eraqus' words were still clear in her mind and as much as she hated herself, Aqua knew she had to do what their master wanted, so she can save Terra from himself.

"Terra!" She shouted back with as much aggression as she could. She needed to get his attention and keep it! She watched him keep walking and a small growl escaped Aqua's lips from her annoyance that Terra thought he could simply ignore her. She summoned her keyblade in her hand and the flash of light clearly caught Terra's attention.

"Aqua?" Ven called uncertainly, his eyes darting from one friend to another.

Aqua watched Terra finally turn, his deep navy coloured eyes narrowed as he stared at her keyblade in her hand. "You're wrong!" She snapped back. "Master isn't doing this because he doubts you; he's doing this because he's _worried _about you!"

"We all have different paths to follow, Aqua." Terra answered, his eyes locking with Aqua's glistening blue eyes.

Aqua caught her breath when she watched Terra turn to walk away. "Then if my path is to keep you safe, then I won't hesitate to do it!" She cried back. Terra stopped once more, Aqua's words finally seeping in.

She knew she had to take him back to Eraqus, for his own safety. But Aqua knew it wasn't simply going to be a matter of taking his hand and pulling him along like a small lost child. If she had to stop him by force for the sake of saving him, Aqua felt like she had no other choice.

Aqua swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes and clouding her vision. _I'm doing this to save him! _She repeatedly thought to herself. _Why can't he see that? _

"Guys!" Ven cried, trying to break the tension between the eldest two. What was Aqua thinking? Was she going to fight Terra?

"You want me to go back to Eraqus?" Terra asked bitterly, ignoring Ven's small cries for them to stop. He slowly walked towards Aqua, finally seeing her as the Master she truly was. The girl spread her stance, but stood upright.

"Yes." Aqua whispered, her voice failing her as she faced her friend. "Please Terra." She begged. She didn't want to have to stop him. Terra shook his head once and made to walk away. Aqua glared at him as he slowly walked away. She raised her keyblade and pointed it at the defiant young man, aiming for a bolt of lightning to strike just in front of him.

The lightning crackled harshly as it crashed against the ground just in front of Terra, causing him to jump backwards to avoid being hit. He spun round and stared in disbelief at the blue haired girl who stared back.

"Aqua, what's gotten into you?" Ven cried also in disbelief. He looked at Terra's shocked expression and then back at Aqua.

"It's true that those were Master orders, but just to make sure Terra is safe." Aqua murmured loud enough for Ven to hear. The bright eyed boy turned to face her, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked between his friends. Aqua finally looked back at Terra who had barely moved. "I have to take you back to Eraqus." She replied softly but with her keyblade still held tightly.

Terra slowly stood upright, watching Aqua's every move. "I...can't." Her muttered, staring down at the tiled floor himself, unable to see that both Ven and Aqua's gaze was on him. When he looked back up he watched as Aqua held her keyblade straight at him, its tip shining brightly before her magic shot out towards him.

Terra swiftly leapt into the air, summoning his keyblade before he landed in a squat back on the floor. He stared once more at Aqua, unable to believe she was doing this. He looked from Aqua to the shining ice that had built up when he'd been standing only seconds before.

"I'm sorry Terra." Aqua answered, forcing Terra to stare back at her, still ignoring Ven's cries for them to stop. "I have to take you back to Eraqus." She repeated with a nod of her head.

Aqua suddenly raised her weapon in the air and Terra automatically dashed to the side, avoiding Aqua's telltale sign of summoning her thunder magic. He hesitated, unsure whether to attack Aqua or not. The girl rushed towards him, answering his question for him when she swung her keyblade and it smashed into his that he had quickly swung up to block.

He stared into her face as they were locked together, seeing the glistening tears in her eyes. Was she forcing herself to do this? Aqua back flipped away, landing gracefully upright to face Terra.

"Stop!" Ven cried, running in between them both, his arms held out as if he could stop the pair.

"Please Ven!" Aqua cried, hoping the boy would leave and return to Eraqus.

"Go home Ven." Terra answered back suddenly. He lifted his keyblade up straight towards Aqua. "Aqua will be right behind you." Terra wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this, he had things he needed to do. Why couldn't Aqua and Ven see that? He had to defeat Vanitas so he can stop the Unversed from appearing across the worlds!

He had to help protect the princesses of light.

The thought made him freeze, remembering his own moment of weakness when he took the light from Princess Aurora's heart. He forced the memory to the back of his mind and stared back at Ven and Aqua, he can't return to the Land of Departure, not after that, not after what he'd done.

Ven's face looked heartbroken and the boy slowly stepped to the side, completely taken aback by what had been said.

Aqua stared at Terra, her fingers flexing around the hilt of her keyblade, surely Terra would have known how Ven would have taken his words to heart?

She rushed forwards and swung her keyblade at Terra once more, she had to stop him somehow and then take him to the Land of Departure. Terra's own keyblade met her own and as the two weapons crashed together the impact caused a vibration right through Aqua's arm.

The elder teen was far stronger than her, Aqua knew it, and so she had to use her own strengths against him. She cart wheeled to the side, before summoning a burst of fire towards him. The blast struck Terra as he just managed to lift his weapon to block the magic, but the impact still sent him hurtling backwards a few feet. Aqua heard Ven's cry and saw the flash of white light as he summoned his own weapon but he didn't move, clearly unsure as to whom to help.

Aqua allowed Terra to get to his feet, his dark blue eyes glaring at her for a moment before he hesitated as what to do next. The young man ran towards her, swinging his keyblade in practised moves and combinations, each one Aqua was able to dodge or block. The swings she managed to block, she could tell he wasn't using his full strength and for a moment she wanted to step to the side and let him leave, that with every attack she used against him it felt like a knife through her heart.

But she _had _to do this! She had to do this for Eraqus and to save Terra.

Aqua threw all her strength into her next attack, hoping to knock him over for a moment. Terra leapt backwards away from her strike landing on his feet and staring back at her. Aqua quickly righted her balance before she toppled over, from nothing meeting her strike and she caught her breath for a moment, seeing the frustration in Terra's eyes.

What was he running from? What is so important that he won't come back to Eraqus for?

Aqua stared back at Terra, watching him leap into the air with his weapon raised above him. A small gasp escaped Aqua's lips as she watched a deep purple and black glow surround her friend and it chilled her right to her spine, freezing her blood and paralyzing her to the spot.

"Aqua!" Ven raced forwards in front of Aqua, his keyblade held tightly. What was Terra _doing_?

"Ven!" Aqua wrapped her arms around the boy, drawing him close as she summoned her magic barrier hoping to block Terra's attack. She watched in horror as Terra pointed his heavy keyblade towards them both and a spurt of black magic rushed from his weapon and smashed against Aqua's barrier. Aqua gasped when she felt the strike smash against her magic and she quickly strengthen her barrier once more in case Terra attacked again.

She glanced up, watching Terra drop onto the ground, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at his weapon. _Terra has used the darkness! _Aqua released Ven and rushed towards Terra taking her chance to strike.

She froze the eldest keyblade apprentice to the spot with her magic, snapping him out of his thoughts before she threw herself towards him and swung her left arm towards the base of his neck.

Aqua hated any kind of fist fighting of the sort, but knew she had no other choice. Her arm struck the base of Terra's neck, not giving him a chance to move. The brunette gave a short gasp of pain before collapsing in a heap on the floor.

The blue haired Master spun round to look at her unconscious friend as the ice that had frozen him to the spot burst into small crystals that floated in the air for a moment before completely disappearing. Aqua then looked back at Ven. He'd barely moved from where he'd run to try and protect her and he was simply staring at the young man he thought of as a brother.

"Ven?" Aqua called out. The boy's blue eyes swivelled onto her, his face in complete shock like someone had struck him across the face for no reason. He turned back to stare at Terra and slowly walked forwards. Aqua slowly crouched down, rolling Terra onto his back to stare at him. _I was right... _She thought to herself, Terra had been getting too close to the darkness. "I have to take Terra to Master." She whispered, looking up at Ven whose eyes were still wide like a rabbit caught in headlights. He nodded once before he looked back at Aqua.

She smiled at him, hoping to try and help him in some way. Aqua had her assumptions that Terra had been too close to the darkness, he'd even used the darkness during their Master Qualification Exam, but for Ven she wasn't sure what might be going through his mind.

Terra had after all just tried to attack them both using the darkness.

Aqua pushed herself back up and placed a hand on Ven's shoulder. "Are you coming back?" She asked him politely. Although she needed him to come back, she couldn't bring herself to order him to return with herself and Terra.

Ven stared back up at Aqua. What had happened to Terra? Terra would never use the darkness! Ven stared back at his unconscious friend and watched as Aqua softly touched the armour on her arms. There was a flash of light and the young woman was clad in her blue and silver armour from head to toe. She then threw her keyblade into the sky and in another flash her platform like keyblade rider glided down towards her.

Aqua carefully pressed Terra's own shoulder armour, to protect him against the darkness as she travelled back home. She bent over to grip onto the red and gold clad young man's waist to help pull him upright before realising Ven had hastily rushed to Terra's other side and helped her pull him upright.

She nodded thanks as Ven help her carry him to her rider. It was going to be a long flight Aqua knew, simply because the riders were only built for one person. She gripped onto the metal bar that ran along the front of her rider, with Terra carefully between her arms.

"I'll cover you!" She turned to look at Ven. There was a small smile on his face and she nodded once more. She hoped Ven realised now that she had to do what she did and that Ven now knows how close to the darkness Terra had been. She stared up at the portal that opened above them as if on cue and allowed Ven to lead the way as she followed him.

Aqua didn't have a clue as to what Eraqus' reaction would be when she brings Terra to him. Would he be heartbroken that the young man he thought of as a son had been using the darkness? Whilst throughout their training, Eraqus had instilled them to protect the light. But she was forgetting one other thing. What will happen to Terra?

_**So basically, this was just a 'what if' over the fact that if Aqua did exactly what Eraqus asked. Also I think the youtuber **_**Strwbrymilk ****_deserves some kind of award after subbing the entire game and that was what I watched back. _**

_**Like I've already said, if you'd like this to be continued in any way or form leave a review saying yes or no. As I will only continue it if I see people would **_**like **_**to read more.**_

_**Thanks **_


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